Evan M. Janush:
When I was a college student, I remember receiving a Forbes magazine and on the cover were Titans in the plaintiff’s bar that were litigating breast implant litigation. And I read about their fight and their cause, and their passion to represent human beings. And then I went to law school and I wanted to be like those people. And I did well and I made law review, and I wound up interviewing for some of the largest firms in our country. And I wound up taking a job at a large corporate litigation group, in a firm in Manhattan, that had offices throughout the nation. And what I learned is that representing businesses who put profits over people wasn’t where my heart is. And I knew then that I had to leave the more cushy environment that I had and represent people. So I left that corporate law firm job, and I wound up at a plaintiff’s trial practice firm dealing with asbestos litigation. And from there, my colleague, Rick Meadow, brought me to The Lanier Law Firm in 2001, and I never looked back.
The Lanier Law Firm has been my home since September of 2004. And it is with immense pride that I get to stand before you today and sit shoulder to shoulder with bright, compassionate, enthusiastic attorneys like Alex Abston on our trial team, and represent people who’ve been injured by corporations that put profits over safety.
Personal Background
Evan M. Janush is the Managing Attorney of the New York office. Evan oversees the firm’s pharmaceutical and product liability mass tort litigation practice. He also oversees business litigation matters for The Lanier Law Firm’s New York office, and he is the practice group leader of the firm’s employment litigation practice. Recently, Evan has been in charge of third party discovery on behalf of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the Opioid Litigation (MDL 2804), and he has been one of the lead MDL attorneys overseeing the liability case against Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Noramco.
Evan has significant experience representing clients in complex business litigation, pharmaceutical mass tort litigation, antitrust and class-action litigation, and representing employees in discrimination and whistleblower actions.
Prior to joining The Lanier Law Firm, Mr. Janush practiced law at the firms of Weitz & Luxenberg and Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin. Evan is the proud father of three daughters and he lives in Westchester County with his wife, Debra. In his spare time, Evan enjoys his role as a stage actor with Westchester Collaborative Theater, as well as boating and snowboarding.
Representative Cases
Evan’s work has involved significant appeals, legal motions and oral arguments in cases resulting in significant verdicts and settlements for clients.
- Currently overseeing third party discovery for the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in MDL 2804: In re Opioid Litigation and overseeing the liability case against Johnson & Johnson and its past and present subsidiaries.
- Participated in the pre-trial and trial team against a major engineering company on behalf of 130 Ingersoll Rand employees in a lawsuit over unpaid bonuses related to the sale of an Ingersoll Rand subsidiary.
- Participated in the nation’s first trial over the painkiller Vioxx, Ernst v. Merck, and two additional trials concerning the same drug.
- Between 2016 and 2018, served as a member of the pre-trial team that worked on behalf of 22 women and their families who alleged that who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-laden talcum powder products caused the women’s ovarian cancer.
- Successfully represented a young mother and widow who lost her husband and daughter in a rollover and achieved a significant confidential settlement.
- Successfully represented numerous company whistleblowers who addressed age discrimination and/or product liability concerns and were thereafter terminated.
- Lead or co-lead trial counsel on multiple medical malpractice cases that have successfully resolved.
- Represented numerous clients in coordinated proceedings concerning the following pharmaceutical multi-district litigations: In Re: Nat’l. Prescription Opioid Litigation, MDL 2804 N.D. OH (overseeing the liability case against Johnson & Johnson for the MDL and overseeing third party discovery nationally); In Re:Vioxx Litigation, MDL 1657, E.D.LA.; In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Liability Litigation, MDL 1699, N.D.CA.; In Re: Zyprexa Litigation, MDL 1596, E.D.N.Y.; In Re: Avandia Litigation, MDL 1871, E.D.PA.; In Re: Levaquin Litigation, MDL 1943, D.MN; In Re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327; In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327; and In Re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2299.
Admissions and Certification
- State Bar of New York
- State Bar of Connecticut
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
Education
- 1998 graduate of Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and President of the Student Bar Association.
- Undergraduate degree summa cum laude in 1995 from the University of Connecticut where he was the President of the Student Government Association at the Stamford campus.
Awards
- Best Lawyers 2024 – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
- Mr. Janush has been named a Super Lawyer™ by Thomas Reuters since 2013 in the New York Metro area for his work in the firm’s pharmaceutical and product liability mass tort practice areas.
- In 2020 he was named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, one of the most respected guides to the legal profession.
- In 2010, Mr. Janush was honored as one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in New York by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and he received this distinction again every year since.
Community and Professional Activities
Evan is devoted to serving others. For the past 9 years, Evan has served as the Mock Trial attorney advisor for Ossining High School. This role has provided Evan with the ability to mentor a significant number of students, many of whom have gone on to compete on mock trial teams in college. Evan has also served on the Board of Directors of Ossining MATTERS, a non-profit charitable organization that raises funds for enrichment programs offered to students from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Throughout the past 9 years, Evan has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees and/or the Executive Board of Temple Israel of Northern Westchester. Evan is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA).
